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Steeves, Preston, Fulp and Semik all garner end-of-season awards
CHICAGO — The USHL league office has continued the release of its end-of-season awards, and four Dubuque Fighting Saints players were awarded the following distinctions by the league:
• Forward Alex Steeves (Bedford, N.H./Notre Dame) was named the recipient of the USHL Scholar-Athlete Award, given to the most exemplary student in the USHL.
• Steeves, along with defensemen Aidan Fulp (Indianapolis, Ind./Western Michigan) and Jacob Semik (Canton, Mich./Michigan) were named to the USHL All-Academic Team.
• Forward Quinn Preston (Trenton, Mich./Ohio State) was named an All-USHL Third Team selection for his showcase of excellence on the ice this season.
“We are proud of all four players that were recognized leaguewide for their efforts,” said general manager Kalle Larsson. “Alex, Jacob, Quinn and Aidan are the definition of what we want a Fighting Saint to be.”
Steeves completed his third and final year in the USHL with his first year in Sioux City, and his final two in Dubuque. He ranks 16th in his class of 398 at Dubuque Senior High School with a 4.1 GPA. Steeves earned an A grade in every class he has taken in four years of high school, including at his hometown Bedford High School, Sioux City East High School, and at Dubuque Senior. He is the first Dubuque Fighting Saint to win the award.
Fulp and Semik join Steeves on the All-Academic Team, a collection of six USHL players who showcased tremendous dedication to their academic studies throughout the season. All three of Steeves, Semik and Fulp are set to graduate from Dubuque Senior High School this spring, which has served as a steadfast educational partner of the Saints since the team’s return to the league in 2010. Jack Drury (Waterloo), Jack Randl (Omaha) and Baker Shore (Chicago) rounded out the field.
“All credit goes to our three boys, [education coordinator] JoAnne Gibson and [assistant coach] Matt Millar. These three players have been recognized—which is great—but the tireless, excellent work of JoAnne and Matt for all of our boys makes us who we are,” said head coach Oliver David. “It’s not easy being a Fighting Saint, and we are proud of Alex, Jacob and Aidan for meeting our standard of excellence.”
“The three of them are great players on the ice, and outstanding students in the classroom,” Larsson added. “We work hard on identifying people that strive to get better on and off the ice every day, and those three young men have proved themselves as role models for all current and future Fighting Saints.”
Preston completed his final year of junior hockey with a bang. He notched 24 goals (T-7th), 31 assists (T-11th), and 55 points (T-9th) during the 2017–2018 season, and ended his Fighting Saints career with 38 goals and 52 assists. The electrifyingly speedy forward proved clutch during both playoff runs, where he posted 7 goals and 3 assists for 10 points in 13 games.
“Quinn came here two years ago and got better every week. He has established himself as a top player in the USHL,” Larsson said of Preston. “His work ethic and drive to improve are what we are always trying to find.”
The Saints’ season came to a close with an eighth consecutive playoff berth, and an eighth consecutive trip to at least the second round of the Clark Cup Playoffs.
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About the Dubuque Fighting Saints
The Fighting Saints returned to USHL play in the brand new Mystique Community Ice Center during the 2010-11 season, winning the Clark Cup in their first year back in the USHL. The Fighting Saints continued their success with a historic season in 2012-13, finishing with afranchise best 45-11-8 record. The team claimed the Anderson Cup as the USHL’s regular season champions for the first time in 30 years, and also earned the Clark Cup for second time in three seasons. In August 2013, the team took the Bronze Medal while representing the United States at the Junior Club World Cup in Omsk, Russia. The Fighting Saints have reached the Clark Cup Final three times in the past seven seasons, and has made it to the Clark Cup Playoffs for seven consecutive seasons. The club has produced a number of players that moved on to NCAA Division I hockey and have been drafted by NHL teams, including Zemgus Girgensons, Johnny Gaudreau, Mike Matheson and Matt Benning. The original Fighting Saints competed in the USHL for 21 seasons (1980–2001). The club won the Clark Cup as playoff champions on three occasions (1981, 1983, 1985) under head coach Jack Barzee. One of the most well-known alumni of the original Fighting Saints was Gary Suter, a 17-year NHL veteran, two-time Olympian, Stanley Cup champion, and member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
About Northern Lights Hockey, LLC
Northern Lights Hockey, LLC is the company that owns and operates the USHL franchise in Dubuque, Iowa. The owners of Northern Lights Hockey, LLC collectively provide an extensive background in both business andhockey, and represent interests on a national and local level. Philip Falcone, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of HC2 Holdings, Inc. and former part owner of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, is the company’s principal owner. The ownership group also includes Peter Chiarelli, Edmonton Oilers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Mark Falcone, and Brad Kwong, Managing Partner of Northern Lights Hockey, LLC. Philip Falcone, Chiarelli and Kwong all played hockey together at Harvard University in the mid-1980s. The group also includes local Iowan partners Mark Falb and David S. Field, M.D. Falb currently serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Westmark Enterprises, Inc. and Kendall / Hunt Publishing Company. Dr. Field has practiced orthopedic surgery for over 30 years and has been the driving force behind hockey in Dubuque. Dr. Field also owned the Dubuque Thunderbirds, the USA Hockey Tier III team that competed in the Central States Hockey League through the 2009–10 season.
